Technology

BankservAfrica and UnionPay International enhance e-commerce in Africa

Published

2 years ago

July 9, 2024

SHANGHAI, July 9, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — BankservAfrica and UnionPay International (UPI) are collaborating to facilitate easier and safer e-commerce transactions for UPI cardholders across Africa’s online merchants.

Announced today, BankservAfrica and UPI have joined forces to introduce UPI e-commerce acceptance across several countries in Africa. This builds on UPI’s appointment of BankservAfrica, last December, as its domestic on-soil processor for affordable, accessible, and innovative card payments for South Africa.

“As the largest automated payments clearing house in Africa, responsible for clearing and processing billions of low-value card, ATM, and account-to-account transactions annually, BankservAfrica is well-positioned to serve Africa’s growing e-commerce market regionally and internationally,” says Stephen Linnell, CEO of BankservAfrica.

UnionPay operates in 50 African countries, and this agreement will further expand its growing network, which spans 183 countries globally. The organisation mentions the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development in 2023, this development – in support of the Internet economy – has the potential to add $180 billion to the continent’s gross domestic product.

“African markets have always been key and valued by UnionPay. The new project of enabling e-commerce acceptance offers great opportunities to existing UnionPay cardholders by providing African merchants expanded exposure to a global audience,” says Asad Burney, Head of UnionPay International Africa region.

UPI and BankservAfrica believe this strategic partnership positions the organisations to be in the frontline of the accelerated e-commerce growth across the continent. The International Trade Administration estimates this rapid expansion will see about 500 million people using e-commerce for their everyday transactions by 2025.

“With the continent’s hyperconnected economy on the rise, BankservAfrica will continue to provide sustainable payment services for the digitally transforming future,” says Linnell. He adds: “We are excited by this collaboration and its potential to promote digital trade that fosters economic development and eases everyday online payments.”

About BankservAfrica

BankservAfrica is the trusted payments partner and Financial Markets Infrastructure (FMI) to the financial services industry. As the largest automated payments clearing house in Africa, we clear and process billions of low values card, ATM and EFT transactions annually. Our role in the South African National Payments System (NPS) is to facilitate interoperability between the banks and ensure regulatory compliance with our regulators against international banking security best practice and standards and reduces risk and complexity in the industry.

We continue to strive to be a world-class and pre-eminent payments operator, innovator and payments partner of choice in Africa, by simplifying our worlds through combining trusted transactions with sensitive information.

BankservAfrica’s national responsibility is to provide safe financial payment services for 62 million South Africans, irrespective of their location in partnership with our shareholders and partners.

With over 50 years in South Africa, BankservAfrica operates 24/7, 365 days a year and delivers on very strong SLAs.

About UnionPay International

With a huge network of payment options, UnionPay International is a pioneer in the payment services industry worldwide. UnionPay International, which operates in more than 181 countries and regions, is committed to ensuring that payments are easy, secure, and available to everybody. For more information about UnionPay International visit: www.unionpayintl.com.

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/bankservafrica-and-unionpay-international-enhance-e-commerce-in-africa-302191898.html

Technology

Yon Raz-Fridman Joins Intrinsic Labs as Co-Founder and Partner

Published

2 hours ago

April 30, 2026

Most AI companies are selling software. Intrinsic is deploying AI workers into the core operations of mid-market companies – and just brought in a serial tech entrepreneur to help the firm scale across the Heartland.

COLUMBUS, Ohio, April 30, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Intrinsic Labs today announced that Yon Raz-Fridman has joined the firm as a Co-Founder and Partner.

Raz-Fridman has spent nearly two decades building across software, hardware, and platform businesses. Early in his career, he served as Chief of Staff to the President of Keter Group, a $1 billion-plus global consumer products manufacturer. He went on to co-found Kano, the award-winning educational computing company, and later founded Supersocial, the immersive gaming studio acquired by Super League Enterprises in 2025. He is a member of the World Economic Forum’s Technology Convergence Council.

He joins Intrinsic at a moment when mid-market companies are moving from AI experimentation to deployment. Intrinsic works with operators in logistics, construction, insurance, manufacturing, and industrial markets to deploy AI workers into the workflows that run the business – increasing throughput, reducing manual work, and expanding capacity without adding headcount.

The firm has built its reputation on practical deployments tied to real operating metrics. In one engagement with a national real estate brokerage, Intrinsic’s AI Accounting Agents reached 97% invoice coding accuracy, automated 90% of the AP workflow, and fully removed FTEs from the review flow.

“Yon understands what it takes to build and scale in the real world,” said Jon Slemp, Managing Partner at Intrinsic Labs. “Our clients aren’t buying flashy agents, they’re buying outcomes and reliable labor. They need agentic systems that take work off their teams, perform reliably, and produce measurable gains in throughput and capacity. That’s what we build.”

As Co-Founder, Raz-Fridman will oversee Intrinsic’s expansion – designing the channel relationships, institutional partnerships, and market positioning that take the firm from a proven Ohio model to the defining AI workforce platform for America’s industrial middle market.

“The companies that win over the next decade will be the ones that figure out how to staff AI into their operations and manage it like a workforce. Intrinsic is doing that work now, inside real businesses, tied to real outputs. The Heartland is exactly the right place to prove this model, and Intrinsic is exactly the right team to do it.” — Yon Raz-Fridman

About Intrinsic Labs LLC
Intrinsic Labs helps mid-market companies deploy AI workers into the workflows that run their business. The firm focuses on logistics, construction, insurance, manufacturing, and industrial markets, where manual work, fragmented systems, and labor constraints create clear opportunities for leverage. Intrinsic works with clients to put AI workers into production, tie them to operating KPIs, and help teams scale output without scaling headcount. https://www.intrinsic-labs.ai/

About Team Yon LLC
Team Yon LLC is a management company founded by Yon Raz-Fridman that incubates new ventures, provides executive leadership, and makes strategic investments at the intersection of emerging technology and human advancement. Through Team Yon LLC, Raz-Fridman partners with founders and operators across healthcare, AI, and frontier technology – including his role as co-founder and Partner at Intrinsic Labs. https://teamyon.org

Media Contact:hello@intrinsic-labs.ai

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SOURCE Team Yon LLC

Technology

Wipfli to complete CompliancePoint transaction and add associates, expanding capabilities

Published

2 hours ago

April 30, 2026

MILWAUKEE, April 30, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Wipfli, a top 25 national advisory and accounting firm, announced today it has entered into an agreement with CompliancePoint Inc., a provider of risk management services focused on information security, data privacy and regulatory compliance. 2 partners and 52 associates will join the firm as a result of the transaction.

Based in Duluth, Georgia, CompliancePoint brings specialization across cybersecurity, privacy and compliance, serving clients across a wide variety of industries. The addition strengthens Wipfli’s risk management offerings and expands its ability to help organizations navigate regulatory scrutiny, evolving cybersecurity threats and complex data protection requirements.

“Organizations today are under more pressure than ever to protect sensitive information and operate responsibly in an evolving regulatory environment,” said Kurt Gresens, CEO at Wipfli Advisory, LLC. “The team at CompliancePoint brings specialized experience and a strong, people-first approach that enhances how we support clients navigating today’s risk landscape.”

CompliancePoint has built its reputation on helping organizations manage risk across the full data lifecycle, with a holistic approach that recognizes how privacy, security and compliance intersect. The combined professional teams from CompliancePoint and Wipfli will deliver expanded, integrated advisory solutions designed to help clients proactively manage risk while supporting long-term growth and operational resilience.

“Wipfli shares our commitment to practical, client-focused solutions and long-term relationships,” said Greg Sparrow, CompliancePoint president. “Together, we’re expanding the resources available to our clients while continuing to deliver the specialized experience and trusted relationships they rely on.”

The addition of the CompliancePoint team also supports Wipfli’s continued investment in talent and innovation. CompliancePoint associates will join a national firm that emphasizes collaboration, professional development and meaningful client impact, while maintaining the specialized focus that has defined their work.

The transaction is expected to become effective on May 1st, 2026

About Wipfli

Wipfli is a leading national advisory and accounting firm with nearly 100 years of experience serving ambitious middle-market organizations. We understand our clients’ unique challenges and help them succeed on their terms through assurance, tax, advisory, outsourcing and technology services. With 3,000+ associates and global alliances, we combine national capabilities with local relationships. Wipfli operates under an alternative practice structure: Wipfli LLP, a licensed CPA firm, provides attest services, while Wipfli Advisory LLC, a non-CPA firm, delivers business advisory and non-attest services. Learn more at wipfli.com or contact Alicia O’Connell at alicia.oconnell@wipfli.com.

Media Contact

Alicia O’Connell
Wipfli
alicia.oconnell@wipfli.com

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SOURCE Wipfli

Technology

Ginkgo Bioworks Announces Date of First Quarter 2026 Results Presentation

Published

2 hours ago

April 30, 2026

Presentation and Q&A session scheduled for post-market on Thursday, May 7, 2026

BOSTON, April 30, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Ginkgo Bioworks Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: DNA, “Ginkgo”) today announced that it plans to host a presentation and Q&A session reviewing business performance for the first quarter ended March 31, 2026, on Thursday, May 7, 2026, beginning at 4:30 p.m. ET.

The presentation details and webcast link will be available on Ginkgo’s investor relations website at https://investors.ginkgobioworks.com, and a replay will be made available.

To ask a question ahead of the presentation, please submit them to @Ginkgo on X (hashtag #GinkgoResults) or by sending an e-mail to investors@ginkgobioworks.com.

About Ginkgo Bioworks
Ginkgo Bioworks builds the tools that make biology easier to engineer for everyone. The company offers autonomous laboratories that replace manual laboratory work with robotics in the lab, greatly improving the productivity of scientists. Ginkgo’s in-house autonomous lab is also available as a “cloud lab” through our Datapoints and Solutions contract research services. For more information, visit ginkgobioworks.com and ginkgobiosecurity.com, read our blog, or follow us on social media channels such as X (@Ginkgo and @Ginkgo_Biosec), Instagram (@GinkgoBioworks), Threads (@GinkgoBioworks), or LinkedIn.

Ginkgo Bioworks Contacts:

INVESTOR CONTACT:

investors@ginkgobioworks.com

MEDIA CONTACT:

press@ginkgobioworks.com

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SOURCE Ginkgo Bioworks